Knowledge that Transforms

Michael McPherson of The Spencer Foundation reviews, “Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman” by Jeremy Adelman. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the life and economic work of Albert O. Hirschman. Discusses Hirschman's early life in the Weimar Republic; Hirschman's education and early relationship with politics; Hirschman's journey to Paris; Hirschman's move to the London School of Economics and involvement in the Spanish Civil War; Hirschman's return to France and the outbreak of World War II; Hirschman's emigration to the United States; Hirschman's involvement in the U.S. Army; the aftermath of World War II; the Cold War and Red Scare; Hirschman's years in Colombia; Hirschman's Yale University years and The Strategy of Economic Development; the RAND Corporation; travel and research; the upheaval of the late 1960s; crisis and hope in Latin America; Hirschman and the Institute for Advanced Study; Hirschman's relationship with the human body; Hirschman during the late 1970s and early 1980s; Hirschman's study of the ethics of social science; Hirschman's work in retirement; and Hirschman's final years. Adelman is Walter Samuel Carpenter III Professor of Spanish Civilization and Culture and Director of the Council for International Teaching and Research at Princeton University.”

Julie Berry Cullen of University of California, San Diego reviews, “Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know” by Leonard E. Burman and Joel Slemrod. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores how the U.S. tax system works, how it affects people and businesses, and how it might be made better. Discusses the basics of taxes; personal income taxes; business income taxes; taxing spending; other kinds of taxes; taxes and the economy; the hidden welfare state; the burden of taxation; tax administration and enforcement; misperceptions and reality in the policy process; tax myths; and tax reform. Burman is Daniel Patrick Moynihan Professor of Public Affairs in the Maxwell School and is with the Departments of Public Administration and Economics and the Law School at Syracuse University. Slemrod is Paul W. McCracken Collegiate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Director of the Office of Tax Policy Research in the Ross School of Business, and Professor and Chair in the Department of Economics at the University of Michigan.”

The categories listed below are used to classify books, book reviews, journal articles, and dissertations indexed in JEL, JEL on CD, EconLit, and www.e-JEL.org . New changes to the classification system appear as soon as possible on www.econlit.org . The JEL classification system may be used freely for scholarly purposes. We suggest the following format: “JEL: A10, B10, etc.”

The list below specifies doctoral degrees conferred by U.S. and Canadian universities during academic year July 2012 to June 2013. Lists of degree recipients and subject classifications are provided by the university. Note: Dissertations without classifications may be found under “Y Miscellaneous Categories.”

Mahmoud El-Gamal of Rice University reviews, “What Is Wrong with Islamic Economics? Analysing the Present State and Future Agenda” by Muhammad Akram Khan. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the state of the art in Islamic economics and finance, analyzes reasons for perceived stagnation, and considers a way forward. Discusses Islamic economics—state of the art; the “why” of Islamic economics; what is Islamic economics?; methodology of Islamic economics; the move from Islamic theology to Islamic economics; expanding the frontiers of economics; an Islamic economic system or spiritual capitalism?; elimination of interest—from divine prohibition to human interpretation; prohibition of riba in the primary sources of Islam; the theory of riba—the orthodox interpretation; assessment of the orthodox interpretation; modernist thinking on riba; prohibition of riba—the continuing debate; unresolved issues in the orthodox interpretation of riba; practice of interest-based finance among Muslims; prohibition of riba—the way forward; the theoretical basis of Islamic banking; problems of profit–loss sharing; practice of Islamic banking and finance; a trajectory of legal tricks—hiyal; Islamic insurance takaful; and contemporary application of the law of zakah. Khan is former Deputy Auditor General of Pakistan and Chief Resident Auditor of United Nations Peacekeeping Missions.”

Albert G. Hu of National University of Singapore reviews, “Private Rights and Public Problems: The Global Economics of Intellectual Property in the 21st Century” by Keith E. Maskus. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Presents an economic perspective on intellectual property rights and their relationship to global issues. Discusses the big stakes in selling knowledge; the big global upgrade—is it working?; global governance; regulating a stressed system; intellectual property rights and global policy challenges; and revitalizing a tired system. Maskus is Research Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Professor of Economics and Associate Dean for Social Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder, a fellow at the Kiel Institute for World Economics, and an adjunct professor at the University of Adelaide.”

Timo Terasvirta of Aarhus University reviews, “Dynamic Models for Volatility and Heavy Tails: With Applications to Financial and Economic Time Series” by Andrew C. Harvey. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Presents a theory for a class of nonlinear time series models that can deal with dynamic distributions, with an emphasis on models in which the conditional distribution of an observation may be heavy-tailed and the location and/or scale changes over time. Discusses statistical distributions and asymptotic theory; location; scale; location/scale models for nonnegative variables; dynamic kernel density estimation and time-varying quantiles; multivariate models, correlation, and association; and further directions in dynamic models. Harvey is Professor of Econometrics at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Corpus Christi College, the Econometric Society, and the British Academy.”

Donald Palmer of University of California, Davis reviews, “The Fracturing of the American Corporate Elite” by Mark S. Mizruchi. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Examines the rise and fall of the American corporate elite between 1945 and the present and considers the role of this decline in the current crises of American democracy and economics. Discusses the rise of the American corporate elite; the state and the economy; labor as uneasy partner; the banks as mediators; the breakdown of the postwar consensus; winning the war but losing the battle—the fragmentation of the American corporate elite; the aftermath; and the ineffectual elite. Mizruchi is Barger Family Professor of Organizational Studies and Professor of Sociology and Business Administration at the University of Michigan.”

The categories listed below are used to classify books, book reviews, journal articles, and dissertations indexed in JEL, JEL on CD, EconLit, and www.e-JEL.org . New changes to the classification system appear as soon as possible on www.econlit.org . The JEL classification system may be used freely for scholarly purposes. We suggest the following format: “JEL: A10, B10, etc.”

The empirical literature on economic growth and development has moved from the study of proximate determinants to the analysis of ever deeper, more fundamental factors, rooted in long-term history. A growing body of new empirical work focuses on the measurement and estimation of the effects of historical variables on contemporary income by explicitly taking into account the ancestral composition of current populations. The evidence suggests that economic development is affected by traits that have been transmitted across generations over the very long run. This article surveys this new literature and provides a framework to discuss different channels through which intergenerationally transmitted characteristics may impact economic development, biologically (via genetic or epigenetic transmission) and culturally (via behavioral or symbolic transmission). An important issue is whether historically transmitted traits have affected development through their direct impact on productivity, or have operated indirectly as barriers to the diffusion of productivity-enhancing innovations across populations.